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Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund will play each other for the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League title after knocking out their opponents in the two-leg semifinals this and last week. Real were first held 2-2 by Bayern Munich in the first leg at the Allianz Arena on April 30. Back at home on Wednesday, the Spanish heavyweights trailed 1-0 until the 88th minute before Joselu scored two goals in three m...

The four teams for the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League semifinals were confirmed after the second-leg contests of the tournament's quarterfinals on Tuesday and Wednesday. Real Madrid eliminated the reigning champions Manchester City after defeating them in the penalty shoot-out at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on Wednesday. Pep Guardiola's football philosophy again backfired. Bayern Mun...

European clubs had gone through another three days of competition at the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Some of the heavyweights were not very happy with their performances. For example, Arsenal were upset by Porto 1-0 in the first-leg game of the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday. What's even more humiliating than the loss was that the G...

Bayern Munich became the poster background for the only upsetting result of the four UEFA Champions League games in the past two days as they lost to Lazio 1-0 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on Wednesday. Like the way they were beaten by Leverkusen in Bundesliga four days ago, Bayern lacked energy, coordination and nearly everything to win against Lazio. It's not the end of the season or the w...

When the 2023-24 NBA trade deadline fell on February 8, there were no game-changing blockbuster deals. The New York Knicks gained the most by acquiring Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. They are now the biggest challenger to the top circle of the Eastern Conference. The Dallas Mavericks made a good, if risky and desperate move of trading for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. If they don't achieve...

It's not rare for football heavyweights to part ways with their managers at the end of a season, but such breakups don't happen in the middle of the season very often, not to mention twice within three days. Jurgen Klopp announced that he will leave Liverpool after the 2023-24 season because he is running out of energy after working in the position for over eight years. Judging by the club's perfo...

Over 200 players were reportedly recruited from clubs in England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France, where the world's top football leagues are, for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire. Moreover, many Asian players had to depart their clubs for the Asian Cup in Qatar. That means some clubs will miss their best players in the middle of the 2023-24 season. For example, Liverpool will have to b...

After most clubs played 20 games, the Premier League is looking at a very close contest for the championship among five teams: Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur from No. 1 to No. 5. None of the five competitors are perfect. For example, Liverpool lack no passion or resolution in the forward positions, but neither Darwin Nunez nor Mohamed Salah is consistent eno...

Draymond Green is expected to come back for the Golden State Warriors from his 12-game suspension next week. The team is currently 17-18 and 10th in the Western Conference, hardly better than they were before Green was suspended. They still blew big lead or struggled to win over weak opponents on many occasions. It's unfair to say that coach Steve Kerr hasn't tried to make changes in rotations and...

The draw for the Round of 16 competitions at the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League was announced on Monday as follows: Porto vs. Arsenal Napoli vs. Barcelona Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Sociedad Inter Milan vs. Atletico Madrid PSV vs. Borussia Dortmund Lazio vs. Bayern Munich Copenhagen vs. Manchester City RB Leipzig vs. Real Madrid UEFA have always been good at arranging dramatic matchups in the Cha...

One joy of watching professional sports is to be amazed by the growth of athletes. The NBA has never lacked that and has been bearing a series of happy surprises since the 2023-24 season began. Having struggled for years, the Houston Rockets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Orlando Magic, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers all have improved their performances this season. Alperen Sen...

Last season, Manchester United didn't appear in the UEFA Champions League, but at least they played in the UEFA Europa League. This season, the "Red Devils" didn't have even that luxury after exiting the Champions League as the bottom team of Group A. Group F, in which Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), AC Milan and Newcastle United were competing, was seen as the "group of death" to ma...

Who are the two least-liked players by Manchester United fans so far this season? There must be various answers, but it's hard to imagine that Harry Maguire or Andre Onana are not there on the list. However, it was the very two who helped the Red Devils secure their first win in the UEFA Champions League at Old Trafford on Tuesday. Maguire scored the only goal against Copenhagen while Onana shut o...

The last time Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) allowed four or more goals in one game in the UEFA Champions League, they lost to Barcelona 6-1 in the second leg of the Round of 16 at Camp Nou in 2017. Back then, Barca still had Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, all in their best years. Newcastle United, despite all of their signings during the summer transfer window, don't have a player that can matc...

Bayern Munich defeated Manchester United 4-3 at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, in their first game in Group A of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. The score seemed close, but the process was one-sided most of the time for the home team. By contrast, Real Madrid and Union Berlin had a truly close game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain. Jude Bellingham saved the day for Real...

Do you consider it madness if you hear any of the following rumors about the NBA? The Milwaukee Bucks may trade Giannis Antetokounmpo if they don't win the NBA championship in the 2023-24 season, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe. The Los Angeles Clippers are not in a hurry to negotiate contract extensions with either Kawhi Leonard or Paul George while they shut down trade talks with the Philadelphia...

Germany haven't appointed a new manager since they fired Hansi Flick from the position, which was the first time in German football history. Germany have failed to advance to the knockout stage in the past two consecutive editions of FIFA World Cup. They are the hosts for the UEFA European Championship in 2024. So whoever takes over will be under extremely heavy pressure to win. But is appointing...

China's 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup trip ended with one win and four losses on Saturday night as well as the failures to secure automatic qualification for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 and to appear in the Olympic qualifying tournament next year. The 105-63 loss to Serbia showed how desperate the gap is between China and the world's top team. The 89-69 loss to South Sudan exposed the stamina...

The draw results for the group stage of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League are as follows: Group A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Copenhagen, Galatasaray Group B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Lens Group C: Napoli, Real Madrid, SC Braga, Union Berlin Group D: Benfica, Inter Milan, Red Bull Salzburg, Real Sociedad Group E: Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Celtic Group F: Paris Saint-Germain...

Seven players have joined the 100-million-euro club in the sense of transfer fees in the past three years in Europe. They are: Jack Grealish, 117.5 million euros (about $128.7 million), from Aston Villa to Manchester City; Romelu Lukaku, 113 million euros (about 123.8 million), from Inter Milan to Chelsea; Enzo Fernandez, 121 million euros (about $132.6 million), from Benfica to Chelsea; Jude Bell...

When Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) assembled the trio of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi in August 2021, they seemed closer than ever to taking the throne in Europe. It cost PSG, 222 million euros (about $243.8 million) to acquire Neymar in 2017 and 180 million euros (about $197.7 million) to land Mbappe in 2018. Messi joined in 2021 as a free agent, but not for free. The three seem to be leavi...

Portuguese star midfielder Bernardo Silva of Manchester City is close to joining the Saudi Pro League, according to Marca. Multiple notable players have joined the Saudi league in the past six months, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante. The Middle Eastern clubs with deep pockets even targeted Lionel Messi and Luka Modric, who turned the juicy offers down in the end. UEFA P...

Nikola Jokic just became the first second-round draftee to win the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) after leading the Denver Nuggets to defeat the Miami Heat 4-1 in the series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Monday. Jokic failed to win the regular season MVP three times in a row and was passed over for the All-NBA First team this season, but he made history for his team by taking them t...

In a not very convincing 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, Manchester City took the throne of European club football competitions. Man City's manager Pep Guardiola won his first Champions League trophy without Barcelona or Lionel Messi, setting a major milestone in his career. Erling Haaland stood next to him. Thoug...

Manchester City, which have won their third Premier League title in a row and are preparing for the UEFA Champions League final, are looking at a great opportunity to create their own era. Barcelona, which clinched the La Liga championship trophy four games early, have not only a mount of debt, but also Real Madrid, who are ready to build the new Galacticos, to worry about. Napoli won their first...